Verified: 29 April 2026 09:31 am IST
Industry: Public Transport (Mass Rapid Transit System)
Jurisdiction: Hyderabad, Telangana, India
Primary Regulators: Hyderabad Metro Rail Limited (Govt. of Telangana) & MoHUA
Important Safety Warning: Beware of the massive “Refund SMS Scam.” Scammers frequently send SMS or WhatsApp messages stating: “Dear Passenger, your Nebula Metro Card recharge or QR ticket refund has failed. Please click this link or call our officer immediately to process your money.” This is a scam. Authentic L&T / HMRL staff will never send alerts from a personal 10-digit mobile number, nor will they ask you to download screen-sharing apps or pay via personal UPI links.
Level 1: Customer Support (Initial Complaint)
How to complain: Register your complaint (smart card recharge failures, WhatsApp QR ticket refunds, station cleanliness, or staff behavior) directly via the official T-Savaari mobile app, the official web portal (ltmetro.com), or by calling the centralized passenger helpline at 040-2333-2555. For specific WhatsApp ticketing issues, utilize the chatbot menu at +91-8341146468. You can also email the central travel helpdesk directly at customerservice@ltmetro.com. For immediate operational issues, locate the Customer Care Center booth situated near the AFC gates at every metro station.
Availability: The central helpline, WhatsApp bot, and online portals operate 24x7. Station Customer Care booths operate strictly during train operational hours (typically 6:00 AM to 11:00 PM).
Timeline: Standard service requests and refund initiations must be acknowledged immediately. L&T Metro aims to process failed online recharge refunds within 5 to 7 working days and resolve standard operational grievances within 7 to 15 working days.
Level 2: Internal Escalation (Station Controller / Grievance Officer)
Who to contact: If Level 1 support fails, your smart card recharge refund is stalled, or your ticket is closed without a fix, you must formally escalate the issue to the private operator, LTMRHL. Submit a written complaint directly to the Station Controller of the specific station. If the station-level management fails to resolve it, escalate directly to the Public Grievance Officer at the Corporate Headquarters (L&T Metro Rail Hyderabad Limited, Hyderabad Metro Rail Administrative Building, Q-City Road, Gachibowli, Hyderabad - 500081) via a formal letter or by escalating the ticket through the T-Savaari portal.
Timeline: Under standard administrative guidelines, the Headquarters officers must address and resolve escalated ticketing and service disputes within 15 to 30 days.
Level 3: State Administration Portals (HMRL & Prajavani)
Authority: If the private L&T corporate officers reject your claim or fail to resolve the issue, you must escalate the matter to the state government regulator, Hyderabad Metro Rail Limited (HMRL), which acts as the nodal agency overseeing the concessionaire.
Portal/Contact: You can email the state nodal agency directly at info@hmrl.co.in or visit their administrative office at Rasoolpura. For formal state-level administrative escalation, submit your grievance to the Government of Telangana via the newly revamped Prajavani Portal (cpgrams.ts.nic.in), which acts as the state’s integrated public grievance redressal system.
Timeline: Grievances escalated to these portals are tracked with strict Service Level Agreements (SLAs), legally mandating a formal investigation by the respective departments and a targeted resolution response within 30 days.
Level 4: Consumer Court (Legal Action)
Pre-Litigation: Transit service deficiencies do not require a specialized Ombudsman. The National Consumer Helpline (NCH) via 1915 is your final pre-litigation step if the administrative portals fail to yield a resolution.
Court/Arbitration: If you are aggrieved by unrefunded recharges, severe negligence causing injury or financial loss, you must file a formal complaint with the District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission under the Consumer Protection Act, 2019, utilizing the e-Daakhil portal.
Timeline: You must file the case within two years from the date the cause of action (the service failure) arose.
Community Action: Is L&T Metro refusing to process your failed Nebula smart card recharge via the T-Savaari app, or are you looking for the correct template to escalate a station management issue to the Gachibowli Headquarters? Reply below (do not share your passwords, bank details, or your exact Card Numbers), and our community will point you to the right resources!